VERGINA... The tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.

Vergina (Greek: Βεργίνα [verˈʝina]) is a small town in northern Greece, located in the regional unit of Imathia, Central Macedonia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Veroia, of which it is a municipal unit.^[2] The town became internationally famous in 1977, when the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The finds established the site as the ancient Aigai (Greek: Αἰγαί).
The modern town of Vergina is about 13 km (8 mi) southeast of the district centre of Veroia and about 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Thessaloniki, the capital of Greek Macedonia. The town has a population of about two thousand people and stands on the foothills of Mount Pieria, at an elevation of 120 m (394 ft) above sea level.

History

During the 8th and 7th century BC the area was ruled by Illyrian tribes, which established a strategic base at the location of Aegae. When in the early 7th century BC local Thracian and Paeonian tribes revolted, the Illyrians pulled out.^[3] In approximately 650 BC, the Argeads, an ancient Greek royal house led by Perdiccas I, fled from Argos and established their capital at Aegae, thereby also establishing the Kingdom of Macedon.^[3] Aegae is said to mean "city of goats" (αἴξ is the Greek word for goat). The capital city of the Macedon kings was called so after Perdiccas I, who was advised by the Pythian priestess to build the capital city of his kingdom where goats led him.^[4] From Aegae they spread to the central part of Macedonia and displaced the local population of Pierians. The area of modern Vergina, which was inhabited by Pierians, thus remained uninhabited until the middle of the 6th century BC. After 550 BC, a Macedonian population settled in the area. In the 5th century BC, King Archelaus I moved the Macedonian capital north to Pella on the central Macedonian plain.^[5] Aegae remained an important ceremonial center but lost a festival in honor of Zeus to Dion.^[5] Aegae continued to flourish even after the raids of the 3rd century BC and new excavations prove that it was still inhabited in the 1st century AD.^[6][7]